Snow on Palomar Mountain

Flower Fields open in Carlsbad

The annual opening day, March 1, at the Carlsbad Flower Fields was not as colorful as it has been in years past, but visitors who braved the inclement weather and were willing to walk to the extreme ends of the fields were rewarded with a hillside of petunias on one end and a robust field of ranunculi on the other end. Photography by Peggy Peattie/UT San Diego

Students on Trial

About 450 San Diego County high school students participated in the annual San Diego County High School Mock Trial Competition at the downtown courthouse, February 28, 2015 Photography by Howard Lipin/U-T San Diego

Silver Bay Kennel Show

Sunday was the final day of the annual Silver Bay Kennel Club Dog Show held at the Del Mar Fairgrounds. The best of the best were singled out in a variety of breeds. Photography by Peggy Peattie/UT San Diego

Beagle brigade arrives

A team of their own

When 14-year-old Isaiah Granet started the youth hockey team San Diego Chill for developmentally disabled children, he just wanted the kids to have a team of their own. It started with two players and has grown to 25 with much of the community volunteering. Photography by Nelvin C. Cepeda

The Marvel Experience

Comic-book aficionados headed to The Marvel Experience at the Del Mar Fairgrounds, February 7, 2015. The experience, a 90-minute interactive show, which takes participants through various levels of training that involve climbing up walls, going through a laser maze and interacting with 3D superheroes and villains. Photography by Howard Lipin

Escondido's dancing stars

Vista High's Ag. Dept. honored

Vista High School was one of just two agricultural programs recognized for community service by the Future Farmers of America. Vista High was a recipient of the FFA: Food For All grant, and FFA recognized just two chapters for outstanding results from the grants.

Monk on bee-tending mission

Spanish Revival home in Cardiff

The original house was a modest 1,000-square-foot structure built in 1961 on a .18 acre lot in Cardiff-by-the-Sea. In 2005 a contractor/builder doubled the square footage, gutted much of the interior and transformed it into a Spanish Revival-style house. The owners have decorated the home with artifacts from their travels to Ireland, Chile, Peru, Tahiti, and Vietnam.

Sudsing up with Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps

Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps made famous in the 1960s are still cleaning up with their ALL-ONE Love and Peace philosophy. They gave participants in the Spartan Race 2015 at Vail Lake Resort in Temecula showers of peppermint flavored foaming soap at the end of the race, January 17, 2015. Photography by Howard Lipin

Staging a home in Poway

Surf Air, one price all-you-can-fly airline

Surf Air, a private membership one price all-you-can-fly airline, is now flying out of Carlsbad's Palomar Airport. Members have access to unlimited flights to the airline's 8 locations in California, including Las Vegas.

Hole in One Challenge assists vets.

Wedding Ringer Stars at Miramar

The stars of the new movie, "The Wedding Ringer," Kevin Hart, Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting and Josh Gad were on the hand at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, January 10, 2015, for a screening for Marines and their families. The movie opens in theaters January 16. Photography by Howard Lipin/U-T San Diego/ Twitter @hlipin

Rowe gets probation

Kathleen Rowe terrorized a married couple Jerry Rice and Janice Ruhter after they purchased a home that she wanted. Rowe placed an ad impersonating Ruhter soliciting sex and gave out Ruhter's address. Rowe was convicted of soliciting rape and was sentenced to five years probation.

PALOMAR MOUNTAIN  Rescue workers who hiked Saturday to a vehicle that plummeted 400 feet down an embankment near Palomar Mountain later discovered the crash had occurred some time ago and the wreckage was long abandoned. The wreckage was reported shortly after 1 p.m. off Nate Harrison Grade Road by witnesses who said the vehicle apparently went over the side roughly four miles north of state Route 76. A sheriff’s helicopter also took part in ...

CARLSBAD  Two young Oceanside men have been arrested on assault and gang charges following an early morning incident Saturday in Carlsbad involving a knife, a Taser, a baseball bat and a high-speed car chase. Shortly after 4 a.m. Carlsbad police responded to a report of an assault at Tamarack Avenue and Jefferson Street where one man, wearing a bandanna over his face, approached the driver of a car and threatened him with a knife. ...

FALLBROOK  A 11-year-old boy who went missing Friday night in Fallbrook has been found safe, the Sheriff's Department said. Trae Hornsveld had last been seen near the Fallbrook Golf Club on Gird Road, sheriff's Lt. Christine Robbins said. He apparently snuck out of his bedroom window between 6:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. after having an argument with his mother, officials said. A sheriff's deputy found him unharmed near his home about 10:15 p.m. Sheriff's ...

The Rainbow Advanced Institute, an online charter school in North San Diego County, will close when its charter expires on June 30, the school announced Tuesday. David Jones, superintendent of the Vallecitos School District, said he recommended the closure of the school -- also called RAI -- because of poor student achievement over the past decade. The Vallecitos governing board voted Feb. 10 to close the school, forcing the layoff of nine teachers at the ...

OCEANSIDE  An apparent arson fire tore through an Oceanside home Friday, and authorities are seeking the homeowner’s 31-year-old son as the suspected firestarter. Ryan Michael McDowell — who is already on probation for arson — was seen driving away from the Shire Avenue home about the same time as the start of the fire, first reported to officials just before 9:15 a.m., Oceanside fire Battalion Chief Felipe Rodriguez said. Firefighters quickly arrived on scene ...

VISTA  Faith Lutheran School, an accredited K-8 school affiliated with Faith Lutheran Church, is issuing an open invitation to prospective parents to visit its Vista campus. School officials said interested families may visit the campus for a tour and classroom observation any time between 8:30 a.m. and 3 p.m. Monday through Friday. The school is at 700 E. Bobier Drive. Visits also may be scheduled in advance with Principal Charles Mayer. In addition to ...

CARLSBAD  Carlsbad High School parent Lisa Posard shared the panel with a top county official, an international health expert and the son of arguably America’s most-famous medical scientist. They were discussing immunizations, a topical subject these days. Her co-panelists were Dr. Eric McDonald, San Diego County deputy public health director; Dr. Hamid Jafari from the World Health Organization and Dr. Peter Salk, son of Dr. Jonas Salk, world-renowned for his development of a vaccine ...

BONSALL  Enrollment is under way for the 2015-16 school year at Bonsall High School. The school is accepting enrollment paperwork for prospective ninth- and 10th-graders. The newly unified Bonsall school district’s first high school opened last August with ninth grade only. While the current ninth-graders will become the school’s first sophomore class, Principal Tim Heck said the campus does have room for additional 10th-graders. Bonsall High currently has an enrollment of 63 freshmen. Officials ...

VISTA  A group of Camp Pendleton Marines is working with the community and local businesses to raise money for a memorial to their fallen comrades. Camp Pendleton-based Marine helicopter squadron HMLA-469 “Vengeance” suffered the loss of seven Marines over the skies near Yuma, AZ in a helicopter crash nearly 3 years ago. Members of the squadron are raising money for a permanent memorial on Mt. Soledad for their seven fellow Marines. A fundraiser is ...

NORTH COUNTY  A motorcyclist died Thursday night after being run over by a tractor-trailer south of Rainbow, the California Highway Patrol said. The 20-year-old Fallbrook man was riding north on Interstate 15 on a Honda Shadow motorcycle about 4:45 p.m. when witnesses said traffic in front of him suddenly stopped, CHP Officer Jim Bettencourt said. The motorcycle hit the back of an SUV, and the rider slid across two freeway lanes and under the ...

NORTH COUNTY  A bicyclist suffered fatal injuries when he was hit by a Jeep Cherokee Thursday night in unincorporated Escondido, a California Highway Patrol Officer said. Both the cyclist and the SUV driver were headed south on Mesa Rock Road north of Windsong Lane shortly before 7 p.m. when the SUV struck the Cannondale bike, CHP Officer Jim Bettencourt said. The bicyclist, a man in his late 40s, was pronounced dead at Palomar Medical ...

VISTA  A man who investigators dubbed the “Creeper” for allegedly breaking into North County homes and molesting young girls while they slept may have victimized other children he knew at homes he frequented, a prosecutor said Thursday. Gilbert Andrew Chavarria, 27, pleaded not guilty in Vista Superior Court to 17 felony counts including committing a lewd act on a child and assault with intent to commit child molestation during a residential burglary. Eleven of ...

OCEANSIDE  Oceanside is poised to shut down another medical marijuana dispensary after a judge issued a preliminary injunction Friday against Chronic Pain Releaf, a shop operating illegally in the city’s Eastside neighborhood. The city forced another dispensary — the Nature’s Leaf Collective, on Vista Way just south of state Route 78 — to close in late October after winning a court case against it. Even as Nature’s Leaf shut down, a new dispensary was ...

NORTH COUNTY  Help is on the horizon for parents and high school students trying to navigate the world of college financial aid. The California Student Aid Commission, with the Escondido Union High School District, is hosting two “Cash for College” workshops to provide free assistance with applications for federal financial student aid and the DREAM Act. The workshops are geared toward high school seniors and their parents or guardians. The first workshop is scheduled ...